Wang Chuan, spokesman for China's consulate in San Francisco, speaks to the media outside the damaged entrance to the building on Jan 2. The consulate said its compound was damaged in an arson attack on Jan 1 and urged US authorities to protect the safety of its diplomats and its premises. Jeff Chiu / Associated Press

Crime

Suspect held for arson attack

A 39-year-old Chinese national, suspected of an arson attack on the Chinese consulate in San Francisco on New Year's Day, surrendered to local police by calling 911 two days after the blaze, the FBI said on Jan 6.

David J. Johnson, FBI special agent in charge, told the media that the suspect, Feng Yan, has permanent residency status in the United States and is being held in federal custody.

However, media reports said later that the FBI made a mistake with the suspect's name, which should be Yanfeng Feng.

The FBI said Feng, who lives in Daly City near San Francisco, told federal agents he was not driven by politics but by "voices he had been hearing".

Johnson said, "Right now, we're looking at this as a purely criminal matter."

FBI spokesman Peter Lee told China Daily on Jan 6 the case is not related to a blaze at the security gate to the rear of the consulate in 2008.

The suspect has not been confirmed as having a relationship with any organization, Lee said.

Diplomacy

Beijing rejects Abe's call for meeting

Beijing and Seoul responded coolly on Jan 6 to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's repeated call for official meetings with his Chinese and South Korean counterparts.

"Abe has repeatedly claimed that he underscores improving relations with China, but what he said is hypocritical. It was he who closed the door on dialogue," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Jan 6.

South Korean President Park Geun-hye also blamed Japan for strained ties.

After paying a customary New Year's visit to a shrine in the central Japanese city of Ise, Abe told a news conference he hopes for meetings with the leaders of China and South Korea to "explain the intent of my visits to the Yasukuni Shrine directly to them with full sincerity".

"Seeking dialogue with China and South Korea is extremely important for the peace and security of this region," he said.

Observers said Abe is playing with words in trying to justify his controversial pilgrimage to the war-linked Yasukuni Shrine.

Society

Panda cub makes debut at Taipei Zoo

The first giant panda born in Taiwan charmed thousands of excited fans on Jan 6 and boosted the local economy when she made her long-anticipated public debut at Taipei Zoo.

Six-month-old Yuan Zai entertained visitors by lumbering up and down a wood log in her enclosure and nibbling carrots and bamboo, while mother Yuan Yuan munched bamboo nearby.

After about 30 minutes, Yuan Yuan held the cub in her paws to feed her. The cub, which currently sleeps 20 hours a day, fell asleep soon after the meal.

According to zoo authorities, about 1,200 visitors waited outside the zoo on Monday morning, including some who had traveled from southern Taiwan.

Taipei authorities have estimated Yuan Zai will bring in NT$500 million ($16.5 million, 12.2 million euros) of revenue in the coming six months.

The city has authorized the sale of more than 30 products carrying the image of the baby panda, ranging from folders to cell phone cases and baby strollers.

Tourism

Forbidden City to be closed every Monday

The Forbidden City, also known as the Palace Museum, expanded its closures from Monday afternoons to the entire day, a move the museum said will better preserve its relics and allow enough time each week to maintain them.

"We want to give the architectural and cultural relics a break. But it's not a break for the museum staff. In fact, there is a ton of work to do on Mondays so that the visitors can experience a safer and better Palace Museum," said museum director Shan Jixiang.

The museum, which announced the expanded closures on Monday, had been operating all year round since the 1980s but began to close its doors every Monday afternoon last year to allow for maintenance and housecleaning, Shan said.

The Forbidden City served as the imperial palace for the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties. With 980 buildings and an area of 720,000 square meters, it is considered the largest existing ancient wooden structure in the world.

Document

Work report in English will be published

The top court is to publish an annual work report in English to give the world a better understanding of China's judicial system and to reduce misunderstandings, a senior court official says.

Following the warm public response to the release of the first English-language work report in late November, the court has decided to make it an annual practice, Hu Yunteng, director of the research department of the Supreme People's Court, told China Daily.

The report has three sections: law enforcement and case adjudication, innovation in management, and reform and development. The first part mainly covers criminal, civil and commercial trials and also deals with national compensation and petition work.

"We've done a lot in recent years to make the court system more fair and independent, although there are still problems," Hu said.

"But because of language barriers, foreigners know little about the progress. They see more negative reports from the foreign media about China's judicial system."

Hu said the top court hopes that foreigners can be better informed with an English-language work report.

Wildlife

Illegal ivory stash destroyed

Chinese authorities have destroyed 6.1 metric tons of elephant ivory seized over the years, hoping to send a zero-tolerance message to poachers.

The haul was crushed on Jan 6 in Dongguan, Guangdong province. It was the first time the nation has destroyed confiscated elephant tusks.

"We want to send a clear message that China will not tolerate ivory trafficking," said Zhang Jianlong, deputy head of the State Forestry Administration, China's wildlife watchdog.

The forestry administration and the General Administration of Customs pulverized the illegal ivory items, worth about 200 million yuan ($33 million; 24.25 million euros), at 3:30 pm. They ranged from elephant tusks to small products carved from ivory.

Shipping

Plan to build new icebreaker by 2016

China expects to build its new icebreaker before 2016, government officials said, as Xuelong, or Snow Dragon, was stuck in Antarctic ice for five days after rescuing 52 passengers from a Russian vessel before breaking out of the ice.

"The new ship will surpass China's only icebreaker, the Xuelong, in scientific research and ice-breaking ability, greatly improving the country's polar research capability," Qu Tanzhou, director of the Chinese Arctic and Antarctic Administration, said on Jan 5.

The new icebreaker will be designed mainly for field research, instead of transporting supplies, and it will have a better power system plus larger decks and laboratories, making it a "mobile research station", Qu said.

It will be shorter and have blades at the bow and stern that will be able to break ice up to 1.5 meters thick, about 0.4 meters more than the Xuelong can handle.

The design contract, which cost more than $613 million, was signed with Aker Arctic Technology of Finland in 2012. The ship will be built at a Chinese shipyard, the administration said.

Defense

New joint command system 'on way'

The Chinese military is to establish a joint operational command system "in due course", with observers saying this will result in more-coordinated and combat-capable forces being able to more efficiently respond to a crisis.

Setting up the system is a basic requirement in an era of information, and the military has launched positive pilot programs in this regard, the Ministry of National Defense said on Jan 2.

The remarks came shortly after a Japanese media report said China is considering reorganizing its seven military regions into five. Each of the new military regions would create a joint operations command controlling the army, navy and air force as well as a strategic missile unit, the report said.

Tourism

New team to handle transgressions

The popular tourist destination of Lijiang, Yunnan province, is planning to establish a law enforcement team to deal with misconduct in the local tourism industry, a local official said on Jan 5.

"We have made a plan and will submit it to the city government and provincial authorities," said He Linhai, deputy director of the Lijiang tourism bureau.

"A bureau in charge of supervising and regulating the tourism industry in the city will be set up once we receive approval and finish preparations," he said.

Responding to recent media reports that a local guide insulted tourists who refused to spend money in shops the guide took them to, He said his bureau conducted an investigation and will severely punish those responsible.

Rehabilitation

Program to help ex-inmates find work

More than 60 ex-convicts are preparing to set off for foreign waters in fishing boats as part of a program to help them get back to work and into society.

Over the next year, the group will spend months at a time working off the coasts of other countries, including Japan and South Korea.

It is the second time Chinese ex-prisoners have been given work placements with state-owned companies thanks to China Ex-Convict Aid, an NGO based in Beijing.

The project was launched in March 2012, and the first group consisted of about 10 ex-convicts, mostly from northern Shanxi province, where the NGO was originally based.

"We got good feedback from the first batch, and it encouraged us to extend the project across the country," NGO founder Wang Jie said. The organization has a long-term agreement to cooperate with an ocean shipping company and a state-owned aquatic product enterprise to help more former prisoners find jobs and reduce their rate of recidivism, he said.

China Daily-Xinhua

More than 6 metric tons of elephant tusks and products carved from ivory are destroyed in Dongguan, Guangdong province, on Jan 6. Wang Zhen / For China Daily

(China Daily European Weekly 01/10/2014 page2)